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Tag Archives: fat

Have you ever wondered why the ankle swells after a sprain or why we get a fever or why you get allergies around pollen? This does not happen because our body is weak; it happens because our body is strong and functioning as it should. Swelling after a sprain is needed to heal damaged tissue. Fever from flu is because our immune system is attacking a virus. Runny nose, watery eyes from allergies is a histamine response from your body to protect. Our body is designed to protect itself – we are robots that have specific programs in place to counteract disease or illness. Unfortunately, we are preventing our body from doing its job.

In the cells of your body is a class of proteins called Sirtuins. These have specific jobs that are designed to help the body function, live, and heal. SIRT1 is a specific type of Sirtuin that is specifically designed to facilitate metabolism. Yes this little guy helps breakdown and utilize the food you eat. Previously, Leonard Guarente of MIT found that this protein has many benefits including protection against Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s diseases. Most recently, they found that when mice were fed high-fat diets a myriad of metabolic disorders developed when the protein was absent. These proteins are helping to keep cells alive and healthy.

We are killing these proteins and preventing them from doing their job. Research has proven that diets high in fat produce inflammation (see my blog). During the inflammation process an enzyme called Capase-1 is released. The specific job of Capase-1 is to go out and cleave (destroy) proteins and ultimately alter the primary objective of the protein. Are you following me?

When we eat a high-fat diet SIRT1 wants to begin metabolism, however the Capase-1 enzyme destroys SIRT1 before it can do its job. What happens next? Well, fatty deposit storage increases, followed by multiple metabolic and cardiovascular disorders such as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension (to name a few). By limiting high-fat intake and foods that initiate inflammation, we can allow our body’s natural protective mechanisms to go to work.